Damn, it would be tough to be faithful hearing those words, but Osborne reminds you of the woman you would hurt with the self-explanatory “I Know What’s Going On.” The moment the relationship ends is captured, from the smack in the face when the guy tells her she’s not the one, “Heart of Stone,” to hearing a guy end an affair on The Manhattans “Kiss and Say Goodbye.” He explains, “I won't be able to see you anymore/ Because of my obligations, and the ties that you have.”
The album concludes with two songs from Standing in the Shadows of Motown, a documentary about the session musicians known as The Funk Brothers, who played on the backing tracks to most Motown Records until 1972, when the company moved to Los Angeles. Osborne performs live with the band on Martha and the Vandellas “Heat Wave” and Jimmy Ruffin’s “What Becomes of the Brokenhearted,” both of which have been previously released on the film’s soundtrack album.
Discussing her creative process for this album, Osborne explains, “When writing songs in soul and R&B, a lot of it is about love and relationships and you have to go into your own relationship to make the writing ring true. I drew on a lot of personal experience for Breakfast in Bed, probably more than ever before.”
It’s too bad for her that she’s gone through all this, but lucky for all of us that we have this album to help us when we do.
Article comments
1 - Glen Boyd
Nice review Bicho. I never would have associated this artist with the sort of R&B vibe described here. Then again, getting your heart broken is about as universal an experience as it gets I suppose. Probably why I'm up so late most of the time actually...
-Glen
2 - El Bicho
She's always had it, Glen, but the radio only ever played "One of Us". Not to knock it, because it's a good pop song, but she has much better ones than that on "Relish." Go to Amazon or somewhere and give her a listen.
3 - Donald Gibson
I've seen Joan Osborne in concert twice and both times I was blown away by her vocal versatility. She could tackle Soul to Rock and everywhere in between.
I enjoyed your review very much.
-Donald
4 - Mark Saleski
...but she has much better ones than that on "Relish."
true. if you listen to the stuff she's done with The Dead, it's all very different...and great!
5 - Rob
It's too bad that "One Of Us" is what the majority of people out there know Joan Osborne for. The song's okay, but damn she's got so much more going on musically and vocally. When I first heard Relish, it blew me away. I was expecting a grungy-folk-pop album. I was happily surprised. Joan's got a set of pipes on her and a presence that'll make you weak at the knees! Well, it made my knees give anyway.
6 - Mat Brewster
I never cared for that "one of us" song (though anecdotally I do recall a naive lady once saying she was proud that MTV was playing a Christian song, I held my tongue not asking if she had actually listened to the lyrics.)
Not surprisingly I love her work with the Dead and Phil Lesh. I was knocked out by her rendition of "attics of my life" a few years back.